Customer Reviews

Stoned

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

While I can understand the arguments against this film I personally thought it was really interesting. If you accept that this is not going to be a story about the Rolling Stones career and that it is only going to be a story about the final months of Brian Jones' life then you will not put yourself in a position to be disappointed.

Brian Jones was the founding member of the Stones and the one who turned the other guys on to the blues. He was also the acting manager of the band in the early days. However, he was also the first one to get into drugs and while the band spent the majority of its time either on the road touring or in the studio recording Brian spent an increasing amount of time in his stately mansion living like one of the landed gentry, albeit one of the stoned-out-of-his-gourd landed gentry. It was his drug problem that prohibited his touring the US with the rest of the band and it was his drug problem that prohibited his contribution to any album after 1967. The other guys occasionally came around to Brian's country estate to check in and see if he had cleaned up but they always found that he hadn't, so, finally, in 1969 Mick and Keith fired him from the band. Jones could hardly have been surprised. To make matters worse Jones girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, left him for Keith c. 1968.

What the film tries to do is give us some idea of what made Brain Jones tick. He was a restless spirit who looked like an angel but who enjoyed experimenting with the dark side. It was the free-and-experimental-spirited model/actress Anita Pallenberg who turned him on to drugs and many of the films most fascinating sequences are drug-induced fantasy sequences that involve S$M (apparently the sex of choice for rock 'n rollers)and lots of dress up and role playing. Jones loved fashion and shopping and he was always known as something of a fashion icon. However much he loved the blues he also loved North African Jajouka music (which made its way on to a couple c. 1967 Stones albums)and he also loved North Africa. But Brian also had problems. While the other Stones seemed to be able to handle recreational drugs Brian could not. Brian was always trying to test boundaries and accrding to the film it was Brian who insisted that Anita and Keith (who he could tell were attracted to each other) get together. After they had been together Brian beat Anita up and from then on out it was Keith and Anita instead of Brian and Anita.

Though a few flashbacks take place when the band was just starting out (and Brian was a fully functioning member of the group) and a few scenes take place in North Africa, the majority of this film takes place inside and on the grounds of Brian's mansion. And most of the time Brian is stoned and just hanging out with his new Swedish girlfriend.

The guy who would in 1993 confess to the killing of Brian Jones was hired by a trusted Stones employee to look after Brian. This guy was officially hired as a contractor to do some work on Brian's property but his unofficial duty was to keep drugs away from Brian; he was, in short, what we would today call a personal assistant. The relationship that developed between the two was a kind of friendship but a friendship in which Brian was the master and the assistant the servant. This part of the story is highly speculative because many of the episodes that took place between Brian and his hired assistant were not witnessed by anyone (with the possible exception of Brian's girlfriend who was in and out of Brians life at this time). Apparently, or at least according to this movie, the hired assistant was unsuccessful at keeping Brian clean. In fact the film alleges that Brian lured this guy into a life of drug use. But, as the episode with Anita showed, Brian could be abusive. And apparently, this film argues, he was abusive to his assistant who one night decided to retaliate.

If you've ever seen Nicolas Roeg's film PERFORMANCE then you probably have some idea how a Rolling Stone lived during this era. This film is not as artsy or as mysterious or as good as PERFORMANCE, rather this film has a kind of quirky attitude and spirirt that makes it feel less like a 1960's avant-garde film (which would have been more appropriate) and more like a contemporary independent film which is in fact what it is. Brian Jones' life and death only make sense if you place it in the context of the time. The filmamkers try to do that but I don't think we ever really believe that this actor has captured Brian Jones as he was and so the legend remains intact. Still the film does some things well. The actress who plays Anita Pallenberg is brilliant. And the film shows what kinds of things Brian spent his time doing in those last months. It also sheds some light (perhaps mainly based on speculation)on to the strange circumstances that led to his death.

I don't think anyone would call this the defintive Brian Jones story, but it has its moments.

The music is a real disappointment. Not much in the way of Stones music here. Instead, probably due to copy right infringements, producers use random 60's tunes instead of Jones/Stones music. So instead of hearing "2,000 Light Years From Home" during the drug sequences we hear "White Rabbit."

Not a masterpiece. But worth a look for Brian Jones and Stones fans who know what they are getting when they rent or buy this film. PERFORMANCE is a film you will watch over and over again. STONED is a film you will probably only watch once. You can't really play a Stone. These guys were some of the most charismatic individuals of their time and no one can capture that kind of magnetism with acting. So just keep in mind that allowances must be made and you will be in a position to enjoy this.

I have been a fan of Brian Jones' for many years and have always wanted to see a movie made about his life - and his was one of the interesting of any Sixties pop star. How many of the general public knows it was Brian Jones who founded and named the Rolling Stones? How many of the general public knows Brian Jones was the multitalented instrumentalist in the Stones and who played a key role in their creative sound during the Sixties by playing instruments like the Indian sitar (Paint It Black, Street Fighting Man), recorder (Ruby Tuesday), dulcimer (Lady Jane, I Am Waiting), mellotron (2000 Light Years From Home, We Love You), marimbas (Under My Thumb, Out Of Time), harmonica (Not Fade Away, I Want To Be Loved), and who was one of the first to play slide guitar (I Wanna Be Your Man, Little Red Rooster, I Can't Be Satisfied) in Great Britain - and one of the best slide guitarists as well. His slide guitar playing would have made any American Bluesman envious.

The movie does show flashbacks of his life, but unfortunately overlooks many important things like how hard he worked to get the Rolling Stones off the ground in their infancy years 1962-63, by writing countless letters to record companies trying to get their interest in signing the Stones, or letters to music papers encouraging journalists to come and see the Stones perform in Blues clubs around London, and to get bookings on British radio shows. It is also not mentioned that Brian Jones was one of the great fashion icons of the Swinging Sixties. Instead, this movie focuses on his self-indulgent lifestyle of sex and drugs and very little of what made him famous - the music.

The movies main plot focuses on the last few months of Brian Jones' life which climaxes with his 'murder' (although to this day his death certificate still reads 'misadventure'). The movie Stoned was based on three books, but yet this movie is nothing like any of those books. It was as if the filmmaker just made up his own story. The movie also leads you to believe that Brian Jones (played by Leo Gregory) and builder Frank Thorogood (Paddy Considine) were good pals. It shows them playing cricket together; Brian giving Thorogood his whole life sob story; and playing and recording music with him in an empty swimming pool. Almost every person who was there at the time said that Brian Jones didn't trust Thorogood and even complained that he was being charged astronomical amounts of money for work that the builder never completed. If you're a die-hard Brian Jones fan like me, than you will probably be disappointed.

Don't say you haven't been warned. You would be better off renting it at Blockbuster Video. Buy at your own risk.

Rob Weingartner

Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, and the downward spiral all three can inspire.

Brian Jones was the ultimate rock tragedy, dying young, rich and ruined by his own success and the loss of his lover. But the late Rolling Stones founder deserved a better biopic than "Stoned," which focuses on every part of Jones' life that is NOT interesting or insightful.

The movie opens with two flashbacks -- Jones being confronted about a girl he got pregnant, and an early Stones show. Then it flips ahead several years to when builder Frank Thorogood (Paddy Considine) is being hired by soon-to-be-ex Rolling Stone Brian Jones (Gregory), to do work on his new mansion and the grounds surrounding it. Soon he's fascinated by the mercurial Jones.

Jones himself is lost in memories of his glory days of drugs, sex, jetsetting and exotic music -- and especially his former lover Anita Pallenberg (Monet Mazur), who dumped him for his bandmate Keith (Ben Whishaw). He draws Thorogood into a dangerous game of hedonistic fun, until the degraded builder strikes back at him -- with tragic results.

In theory, Jones was the ideal subject for a biopic -- he lived a short, colourful life full of drugs, art and sex. Perfect subjects for a wild movie. Too bad this movie is actually about Frank Thorogood.

Unfortunately director Stephen Woolley doesn't seem to realize that nobody really cares about Thorogood, or why he murdered Jones. What people want is Jones -- tortured artist, forlorn child-man, girlfriend-beating sadist. Woolley provides brief glimpses ("You're fun to wind up") into Jones' psyche, but there's a lot more of Thorogood getting stoned, whining, and jumping on sleeping women.

How did Jones start the Stones? How did fame and drugs change him? How did he deteriorate until his bandmates had to kick him out? Nope, don't expect answers. Instead we get about a hundred lingering shots of the swimming pool on Brian's estate -- thank you for that subtle foreshadowing, Mr. Woolley. We had almost forgotten that Jones drowned in the pool.

In the end, "Stoned" is remarkable more for what it leaves out than for what it contains. Anita, those illegitimate kids, and Jones' musical skills are all sort of pushed to the side so we can see the big bad rock star mess with a country lad. And Woolley NEVER focuses on his relationship with the Stones. It's a shame, because the flashbacks to the Moroccan vacation are the most intense and colourful of the whole movie.

Leo Gregory does a fairly good job with Jones' personality (too bad they look totally unalike). But star is Mazur as the dangerous, charismatic Anita; it's a shame the affair is basically dismissed as a longtime S&M romp. Whishaw and Luke de Woolfson deserve a special shout-out for their portrayals of Richards and Mick Jagger. Neither one has a lot of onscreen time, but they are utterly convincing.

"Stoned" is full of moments that show what the movie could have been, and never was. Instead of a study of a brilliant, manipulative musician, we have a study of how he messed with his gardener. A limp, schizophrenic mess.

I am a big fan of the Rolling Stones and I found this movie to be very well done. Some are disappointed the movie doesn't have more Stones music or show Brian in his prime. If you accept the movie is focusing on the end of Brian's life, you will be interested for what it shows rather than omits. What it shows is how Brian could be cruel, self-centered, and self-destructive. I found it interesting that a man who could have so much fame and money could be so miserable and feel the need to turn to drugs.

The actor playing Brian does a very good job! I think people who have some knowledge of the Rolling Stones will find this movie to be entertaining. Perhaps, having the life of a rock star comes with more temptation and pressure than most imagine. The decline of Brian shows how the envy of others, mixed with Brian's own lack of self-discipline led to his tragic early death. The movie portrays a morbid depressing atmosphere mixed in with luxury and wealth.

I'm not really into rock music but I am into biopic films. Woolley has produced some amazing British films over the past two decades, so it's not surprising that he finally turns to directing. But despite some strong acting and a groovy 60s vibe, the film is a mess. "Stoned" concentrates on the last weeks in the life of "Stones"- founder Brian Jones (Leo Gregory), whereby earlier developments are integrated again and again in flash backs. By alcohol and drug craze incapably become to co-operate further as a guitarist with its volumes Brian spends most time partitioned from the external world as well as his Swedish girlfriend Anna Wohlin (Tuva Novotny) in its country house. In order to hold it there under control, route manager Tom Keylock (David Morrisey) sends a friendly building contractor (Paddy Considine) to Brian, in order to implement some work on the house and on his favorite, who loses itself ever more in psychedelischen intoxications and eroticism excesses to watch out. But franc is so fascinated by Brains unusual personality and its out-curving life-style that it in-increases ever more into a mixture from admiration and jealousy. When Brian a further Psycho spiel with its guest floats, it comes to the disaster...

At least I think that's the plot. Although the film does offer some interesting insight on the mystery of Brian's death, it takes 84 minutes before it even lets on that there IS a mystery. Given the framing structure of the film, I was led to believe that the flashback story was going to explain the psychological descent of the principal that led him to an excessive lifestyle, hence death style. You know, your basic "drugs suck" movie. Turns out it has a completely different story to tell, but takes a very long time to get to it. Too long, in my opinion, and too little energy is expended on the way. The scenes are beautiful to look at, and often dramatically strong, but without an overriding through-line, they feel like unrelated short films featuring the same cast.

Even though the cast is interesting to look at, only Considine has a proper character to work with; Frank's an intriguing bundle of hopes and insecurities, plus elusive dark demons. This is really his story, not Brian's. And while Gregory has some excellent moments, he struggles to emerge from the drugged-out wooziness, especially with those cheap-looking wigs. Of the remaining cast, only Mazur and Morrissey get interesting roles, although we never know much about them. The rest barely register at all. As a director, Woolley has some nice touches in capturing the raw eccentricity of a rock star lifestyle. But he's obviously limited by copyright issues from including any Stones music or focusing on the band's own story. Not to mention the relentless homophobia and a series of weak epilogues.

The story unfolds the shocking set of events that led to Jones' premature death at 27. So he joins the league of legends - Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain - who broke on through to the other side at the same age. His story differs in that he didn't self-destruct; though some would argue, after seeing "Stoned," that he chose the water he was in - but not whether to sink or swim.

The death of Brian Jones has been one of the greatest tragedies in the rock history even though such names as Mick, Keith, and Charlie (and Ron if you like) represent the legendary rock band the Rolling Stones today. It is only natural that producer-turned-director Stephen Woolley chose the still controversial topic for his debut film because it still intrigues us as an unsolved mystery surrounding the last days of Brian, and it may also give us the key to understanding the eternally lost genius.

However, I was pretty frustrated while watching the `fact-based' bio-pic `Stoned' that gives no answer or plausible interpretations to these questions. Yes, as other reviewers have already said, the film uses what is claimed the death-bed confession of Frank Thorogood, an ordinary builder who is hired by Jones to rebuild his estate. Part of the film's story is based on his words, which supposedly support the theory that Brian Jones was really murdered.

I don't write the details here, not because it will spoil your fun; but simply because the events up to the death of Jones are so unconvincing, and sometimes dull, full of cliché usually seen in countless bio-pics of artists. To call someone's death a murder, you need a motive of the killer. They just failed to produce it in `Stoned.'

To make matters worse, `Stoned' does not tell you much about Brian Jones as a human. One reason is the script spends too much time about Frank who is influenced by Brian's wild lifestyle, not Brain himself. Not only that; talking about wild, the film shows many full-frontals, SM-like sex scenes, grainy and psychedelic pictures, and drug-addicted guitarist's self-destructive behaviors, but it does not explain why his girlfriends were so attracted to him, or what kind of the role he played in the group when it was first formed, or when he left it. Probably non-fans of the Rollins Stones would not see Brian as very gifted instrument player, or would not understand the importance of the fact that he is one of the first musicians who introduced the African music into Europe.

Actors did a good job, but by good job I do not mean they look like their real counterparts. Leo Gregory is acceptable as Jones, but Monet Mazur is much more effective as Jones's girlfriend, Anita, who captures the essence of the 1960s and the time of free love. As to the other members of the Rolling Stones, all I can say is some of them might look like the real ones seen from a certain angle. And if you watch carefully, and you will find even Ian Stewart (of course, he's an actor). The filmmakers, it is true, did a lot of research, and the soundtrack (though including no Rolling Stones' original recording) is fantastic like that of another rock-related bio-pic `Backbeat.'

This is no surprise, for director Stephen Woolley once co-produced `Backbeat.' The theme of Brian Jones is perhaps more appealing to us than the fifth member of the Beatles because it is about an untold story of a genius. But by sticking to the murder theory, the film lost the opportunity to tell it.

Despite some of the other posted reviews, I eagerly anticipated the release of this recent film and wasn't disappointed. For a low-budget film, I found the location shots and wardrobe of the film quite marvelous and fitting, especially if you're a diehard Stones or Brian Jones fan. The film could have done a bit more to explore Brian's mind and his musical creativity, but that wasn't the direction of this story. If you're looking for an attractive way to visualize the events as probed in all the books about his death and a fairly summarized/comprehensive look at the events leading up to it, this is a marvelous, must-see flick. The actress portraying Anita is stunningly beautiful (as you see a LOT of scenes with her, engaged in S&M, etc). Some reviewers have also complained that more time should have been directed towards Mick and Keith, but that's not the point of this film either; it's NOT a Stones retrospect, but Brian's role in events, his taunting relationship to his builder Frank, and his descent into the wild, swirling haze of the '60s international jetset and all it's excesses. Showing Brian's 'tool' a bit much..? Not really ~ I see it more of a welcomed 'rawness' to the story-telling. Very Shakespearean in nature, the film has both the smooth, event-unfolding kind of story-telling, careening towards the eventual pool scene, sprinkled with explosive scenes of rockstar excess and free expression. Some of the deleted scenes show a bit more of the final weeks of Brian's life, both playful and hopeful for an eventual reemmergence back into the blues music scene with the likes of Clapton and Hendrix.

A very LONG overdue film, yet a very satisfying look at the short career of Brian Jones.

This film was a huge let down for me. I'm a big fan of classic rock, along with biopics, and I really enjoyed movies like "The Doors", "Ray", and "Walk the Line". So recently while browsing the video store I saw this film. "Stoned" it was called, it claimed to be the story of Brian Jones and the Rolling Stones. I was immediatley interested, and although I am a Stones fan I knew almost nothing about founding guitarist Brian Jones save for the fact that he died at age 27 just like Morrison, Joplin, Hendrix, and Cobain. The quotes on the back told of a "truly terrific biopic that perfectly captures the 60s revolution". I don't know if that reviewer happened to be the director's best friend, but they couldn't have been more wrong.

"Stoned" begins as you might expect: a young, 1963 Rolling Stones playing the blues at a smoky concert somewhere in Great Britain. Now, what you would hope for with this kind of film would be an enticing look into the creation of the band, the contributions of the late-great guitarist, and thier profound effect on the turbulent culture of the time. The movie did none of the above. We never get to learn how the Stones came to be or how the boys met. We never watch their rise to the top as musicians in such a diverse era, or see them progress and grow as a band. The movie never shows us what a profound musician Jones was, what he did for the band, or even was his life was like before practically 3 months before his death. I would wager that the characters of Kieth Richards and Mick Jagger have about 20 lines in the entire movie, while any other band mates have none what so ever.

What "Stoned" does show us, however, is as I mentioned the last 3 months of Jones' life. At this point in his life, Jones had virtually no relationship with the band, who was at the time touring in the States without him. We get to watch an an hour and forty minutes of him wollowing around, with a few flashbacks to the earlier days. These flashbacks, however, do not give us any more insight into the band or their heyday with Jones, they merely give us more evidence of what we already saw: Jones doing lots of drugs, having lots of sex, and his failed relatoinship with his ex Anita.

What is so ridiculous about the film is that it makes crystal clear why the Stones kicked Jones out shortly before his death, but it never gives any reason why he was a part of the band in the first place. We never see Jones talent, his good side. In fact, save for the aforementioned opening blues number, Jones plays virtually no music in the whole movie. And not once do we see the rest of the band performing. No, we watch Jones in his paranoid, drug heavy last days. This could be fine as say, the last 20 minutes of a REAL biopic, but not as the entire film.

At the end of the movie, Jones dies, apparently murdered by a hired builder he had befriended (kind of). Then we get a brief clipping of the Stones tribute concert to Jones, and a couple of minutes of Jones discussing his chaotic days with a friend in the afterlife. And that's it. The viewer is left feeling a huge lack of completion. Do you now understand the Rolling Stones more, who they were, what they were like back in the day, and how they came to be such enormous stars? No way. Do we have a better look into the tornado of a time that was the wild 60s? Nope. Do we at least have a good idea about the life of guitarist Brian Jones? Barely.

The only good thing the movie has going for it is it will make you curious about this Brian Jones. What was his life like before those last 3 months? Well since "Stoned" didn't even attempt to answer that, you will probably want to find out for yourself.It's unfortunate that this movie was, quite frankly, terrible, as Brian Jones does seem like he would've been an interesting person, and perhaps a better director and screenwriter could've given us a better idea of his life and character.

If you are looking for a REAL biopic about rock n' roll and the 60s, pick up The Doors (Special Edition), by Oliver Stone. It chronicles the life of Jim Morrison, from his life changing experience at age 5, to the formation of the band, to their rise to the top, and eventually, Jim's decline and death. "The Doors" stands apart from "Stoned" in so many ways. We really get a sense of who Jim was, from the beginning to the end. Not only that, we get to know ALL of the band, Jim's girl friend Pam, his friends, and many more characters. We get a good look into the 60s, how chaotic it all was, but we see how well the Doors fit into that era. The audience can really get a feel of how Jim and the Doors changed the world, and we can really watch the rise and fall of four rock gods.

All in all, "Stoned" gets maybe a 2/10, like I said its not all terrible, but almost. The main actor does a pretty good job being a nuerotic, paranoid, druggy, but its unfortunate he couldn't show us the inner genious this Brian Jones apparently was. So next time your in the video store, pick up the Doors, you won't be dissapointed. Leave "Stoned" right there on the shelf.

I have been a fan of Brian Jones' for many years and have always wanted to see a movie made about his life - and his was one of the great disregarded stories of any Sixties pop star. How many of the general public knows it was Brian Jones who founded and named the Rolling Stones? How many of the general public knows Brian Jones was the multitalented instrumentalist in the Stones and who played a key role in their creative sound during the Sixties by playing instruments like the Indian sitar (Paint It Black, Street Fighting Man), recorder (Ruby Tuesday), dulcimer (Lady Jane, I Am Waiting), mellotron (2000 Light Years From Home, We Love You), marimbas (Under My Thumb, Out Of Time), harmonica (Not Fade Away, I Want To Be Loved), and who was one of the first to play slide guitar (I Wanna Be Your Man, Little Red Rooster, I Can't Be Satisfied) in Great Britain - and one of the best slide guitarists as well. His slide guitar playing would have made any American Bluesman envious.

However, the movie does show flashbacks of his life, but unfortunately overlooks many important things like how hard he worked to get the Rolling Stones off the ground in their infancy years 1962-63, by writing countless letters to record companies trying to get their interest in signing the Stones, or writing letters to music papers encouraging journalists to come and see the Stones perform in Blues clubs around London, and to get bookings on British radio shows. It also does not mention that Brian Jones was one of the great fashion icons of the Swinging Sixties. Instead, this movie focuses on his self-indulgent lifestyle of sex and drugs (and there's plenty of it) and very little of what made him famous - the music.

The movies main plot focuses on the last few months of Brian Jones' life which climaxes with his 'murder' (although to this day his death certificate still reads 'misadventure'). The movie Stoned was based on the following three books: Who Killed Christopher Robin: The Truth Behind the Murder of a Rolling Stone by Terry Rawlings, Paint It Black by Geoffrey Guiliano and The Wild and Wicked World of Brian Jones by Anna Wohlin, but yet this movie is nothing like any of those books. It was as if the filmmaker just made up his own story. The movie also leads you to believe that Brian Jones (played by Leo Gregory) and builder Frank Thorogood (Paddy Considine) were good pals. It shows them playing cricket together; sitting by the pool together and Brian giving Thorogood his whole life sob story; and playing and recording music with him in an empty swimming pool. Almost every person who was there at the time said that Brian Jones didn't trust Thorogood and even complained that he was being charged astronomical amounts of money for work that the builder never completed. The film is rubbish.

Don't say you haven't been warned. You would be better off renting it at Blockbuster Video. Buy at your own risk.

Rob Weingartner

Stoned is an intelligent and witty take on Brian Jones's final days, whether or not it's the last word on the mystery of his drowning. Published accounts contain contradictory details, and ex-Stones employee Tom Keylock, consultant on the film, may have his own particular spin, but Stephen Woolley and scriptwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have fashioned a coherent and logical story out of the available material: if his death didn't come about as suggested here, it makes sense in the context of the film.

The growing interdependence of Jones and Frank Thorogood, hired to do up the Sussex farmhouse where Jones hoped to kickstart his creativity, drives the narrative; Leo Gregory, as the seductive, exasperating rock star, and Paddy Considine, the baffled but intrigued builder, are compelling in a relationship which alludes both to Joseph Losey's 60s film The Servant (scripted by Pinter) and, appropriately enough, Performance, in which Mick Jagger played a dissolute rock star with echoes of Jones.

The mindgames with Frank are interspersed with flashbacks from Brian's point of view, allowing us to see key moments in the breakdown of his relationship with Anita Pallenberg (the one woman whose loss seems to have mattered), and glimpses of his slipping status in the group he once led, without sacrificing the immediacy of the central conflict. This device also creates a much-needed degree of sympathy, his constant need to pick over his past suggesting just how damaged Jones has become by this stage - it doesn't make him any more likeable, but it does explain his need to lash out at someone else for distraction.

That said, while Stoned doesn't purport to be a conventional biopic - the last days, not the whole life - I wondered whether there might be too much shorthand for an audience not familiar with this star who died in the 60s. The director's commentary clarifies matters but details can whizz by in the actual viewing. It feels right that the focus is not on Jagger and Richards - this is not the Rolling Stones story - but is the brief (though powerful) scene with Brian's family enough to suggest everything in early life which shaped the man now messing with Frank's head?

I also wondered whether the character of Frank was treated too gently. The biographies suggest that Jones was more scared of him than is implied here: for almost the entire film, in fact, he is more Frank's tormentor (and pretend-buddy) than victim. Similarly, the extent of Jones's continuing music-making seems downplayed, a bit of inconclusive jamming with Frank the only indication of any hope for his creative future. But this isn't a documentary, and these decisions serve to intensify the bleakness of the scenario, locking the two main characters into what might be termed a Stoney Endgame.

The story's dictates may also be why we see little indication of the man capable (according to Bill Wyman's Stone Alone) of being gently supportive of Suki Potier after the death of her boyfriend Tara Browne or of spending a final, untroubled day with his parents. And it has to be said that despite the coup of persuading Janet Lawson, the nurse present on the last night, to speak she, like Brian's girlfriend Anna Wohlin, is strangely characterless in the film. But then that also seems the case in the biographies, even Wohlin's own, and this is finally a film about two men - and the absence of one woman (Pallenberg).

Essentially, Stoned succeeds in making an unwieldy amount of information into a playful, inventive - and touching - story. Whether or not it's the whole truth, it has its own truth, and there are undoubted insights along the way into the psyche of "this fragile monster," as Keith Richards once described his former bandmate.